Sarah' Friend
by F86
Summary: Olivia discovers that Sarah Walsh has a bodyguard.
1. Chapter 1

A troubled Detective Olivia Benson arrives in the squad room of the 16th Precinct's Special Victims Unit and tosses her coat over the back of her chair, she is lost in thought. Sergeant John Munch notices and asks "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" Olivia responds breaking her concentration before waving him off. "Oh, nothing" Munch starts to walk away, but then Olivia unexpectedly continues. "I stopped in to check on Sarah Walsh. There was a woman with her; apparently she has a roommate now."

Turning back Munch asks "I think I recall that case. Bayard Ellis got the guy off?" Olivia nods. "And this woman bothers you because you think Sarah will be victimized again?"

"No, not really, I'm glad to see she has somebody around." Olivia has been concerned about Sarah though which is why she checked on her.

"So why all the puzzlement?"

"Well this woman is older than Sarah; certainly out of college. She was fairly friendly, but only after Sarah introduced me as a detective that worked on her case. But I had a feeling the whole time that I was intruding on her turf and she was wary of me."

"Do you think this woman forced Sarah to take her in?" Munch asks.

"No Sarah was quite relaxed…. More relaxed than I would be if my rapist was acquitted and I was living in the same place where I was attacked. If this woman was an intruder, Sarah would have tipped me off."

"I didn't think she went for older girls myself, but you knew her much better."

"No, Sarah is straight, very independent and self sufficient. She didn't have to live in that neighborhood; she did it to experience the… less affluent side of life for her music composition."

"Maybe this woman is a bodyguard hired by daddy. The family was well off as I recall."

Olivia ponders. "I know what was bothering me. She had on a long coat, inside, and I caught a glimpse of her put it on while Sarah unchained the door. We're having a cold spell, but Sarah had the heat turned up in the apartment. So why would she put on a coat in indoors? Also, as casual as she acted I don't think I made one movement that she didn't observe." Olivia recalls. "And she never sat down."

"Maybe she was headed out. What was her name?" Munch prods.

"It was strange. It sounded Greek, Kyraxanthos or something like that. I'm not sure if it is a last name or a first name."

"Hmmmm" Munch says suddenly serious.

"What?" Olivia asks. She is used to Munch's conspiracy theories, but he normally delivered them straight away and with a certain wry sense of amusement, not the concern and silence he just displayed. Munch doesn't respond right away. "What?" she repeats and then, when he's still reluctant to speak, takes him to an empty interrogation room away from people who might overhear.

Finally Munch privately responds. "The NYPD keeps files on unexplained incidents, sort of their own X-Files, only real. In 1998 a French judge was killed and his bodyguard escaped but developed hysterical amnesia. She was attacked in the mental ward and then went missing never to be found. The people who were suspected of killing the judge were murdered. Their leader, a guy named Vladic was decapitated with a sword. The bodyguard went by the name Kyra Albright. She is still listed as a person of interest although they aren't pursuing it anymore. Kyra could be a short version of Kyraxanthos."

"Why would we keep a file on an incident in France? That has nothing to do with the NYPD." Olivia observes.

"Oh, but it does." Munch pauses trying to recall before continuing. "In the Depression kidnapping was a common way for mobsters to get ready cash before it became a federal offense after the Lindbergh baby kidnapping in 1932. A business man was kidnapped in Manhattan. His business partners were instructed to have a woman make the drop. There were very few females on the job back then. A civilian woman was engaged to do it and she did, but the vic wasn't returned. Her name was Kyra Stamoulis. She was suspected of keeping the money. Shortly afterwards, there was an incident at a bar known to be frequented by the mob family that was suspected of being involved." Munch digresses. "I'm amused by how they call them social clubs…"

"An… incident?" Olivia coaxes him back on topic.

"Yeah, that club was turned into a slaughterhouse, particularly unsocial if you ask me. The NYPD had bugs in place, but no warrants for them so they could not use what they heard on the tapes when they recovered them. A woman's voice was heard demanding that they release the mark. They responded by suggesting that she … perform some unnatural sexual acts. There was the sound of gunfire, followed by some male laughter…. then the screaming began."

"So they killed her."

"No. She killed them, all but the bartender, but even he was badly wounded. The tale the survivor told made no sense except the physical evidence backed it up. He admitted the men that died did shoot her, she went down, but in a moment got back up and attacked with a sword she pulled from under her coat. There were bullet holes in the wall with associated high speed blood splatter from through and through hits. Her coat was found along with her blouse showing several shots that should have done massive damage. But she apparently left wearing a raincoat she found at the bar. The bloody coat she left had been modified to conceal a sword. NYPD didn't know what to make of what happened. But, a few days later, after the wounded man talked to another mobster, and the mark was released unharmed. By the way, the screaming was all male. She really tore those guys up. She likely left the one alive to deliver the message that it wasn't over until the kidnapped guy was released."

"That was over eighty years ago Munch."

"Yeah"

"You think Sarah's friend could be what, that woman's what… granddaughter?"

"No. I'm thinking it is the same woman."

"How?"

"I don't know. But facial recognition was run on photos of the woman who killed the mobsters in 1931 and the bodyguard in 1998 and they matched to a high level of confidence."

"Family resemblance" Olivia says dismissively.

"Liv, the woman took half a dozen forty-five caliber slugs through the torso and… got … up, took them out with extreme prejudice, then swapped her clothes for one of their coats, calmly walked out leaving a stack of bodies bleeding out on the floor, and hailed a cab without apparent distress. A person who could do that… I make no assumptions on what else they can do. And there is more."

"More?"

"Yeah every now and then a body is found decapitated. Not too shocking in itself in a city this size, but sometimes the victims are next to impossible to identify. It is like they only existed for the last ten years or less before their bodies were found. Then there was a records guy in the 1980's who claimed he'd found a guy, a dealer in antiques on Hudson Street, that had been creeping around since at least 1700 pretending to die every now and then leaving all of his belongings kids who turned out to have died at birth and assuming their identities. Internal affairs had him retired pretty quickly, but his evidence was compelling…. although it was covered up of course."

"Over three hundred years? It's not possible."

"There was a police lieutenant… Frank Moran who liked the antique dealer, for the murder of a guy named Fasil at the Madison Square Garden parking lot. Fasil was decapitated." Munch says.

"'Liv, I'm telling you this because I want you to understand that there are things out there which you should not provoke. There are mysteries beyond the experience of mortal man." Munch says as Olivia shakes her head, she does not live a world like Munch but one of rationalism.

Seeing Olivia will not be dissuaded, he continues "I want you to go see an acquaintance of mine. He'll show you the files, but you'll have to show him your underwear." Olivia is aghast but Munch adds "You don't have to be in them, just put them in a bag." Detective Benson makes a face. "Hey, he doesn't get out much. You probably won't want them back."

The next day Detective Benson enters the squad room and immediately finds Sergeant Munch whom she hustles off to a quiet place. "Okay your friend is seriously creepy and I'm not entirely convinced he's harmless. But he let me study the files. I didn't ask for the underwear I bought for the occasion back. Never tell me how you met him."

"At my second wedding, he's my ex-wife's cousin. Don't let him know where you live."

"Yeah, no problem there." Olivia makes a face. "Munch, it was her. What do we do?"

"We? How did this get to be 'we'?"

"She might kill him."

"The rapist? If she wanted him dead, he's dead already. But I'll call Homicide to make sure."

"So Sarah has a big mean dog in her front yard." Olivia observes.

"More like a rabid tyrannosaur. But, yeah." Olivia starts to turn to leave. "I'd tell you to stay away, but I know you wouldn't listen. If you go back over there, go easy, make no sudden moves. We have no reason to pick her up. The French have not renewed their notice for a decade and the thirties were a long time ago."

"There is no statute of limitations on murder."

"Go easy 'Liv." Munch warns again with none of his trademark ironic humor.

Later that evening Detective Benson knocks on Sarah's door. It is answered by Kyraxanthos. "May I come in?" Olivia asks.

"Sure Olivia." Sarah calls from the kitchen area of her small apartment. Kyraxanthos opens the door and Olivia enters trying not to look too closely at the other woman.

Kyra finds this amusing. "Problem Detective?" she asks and Olivia shakes her head.

"Do you want a beer, or are you on duty?" Sarah asks.

"I'm on my own time. I see you still have your fake ID."

"I bought the beer and wine Detective." Kyra counters. "I'm well over the legal age." Olivia notices the last part was delivered as an unshared inside joke.

"Some wine would be nice." Olivia asks and in a moment Sarah presents her with a glass of red wine.

Kyra watches Olivia carefully and then breaks the awkward silence. "Detective, you are wondering whether I would kill the guy that raped Sarah. I won't. Not because he doesn't deserve it, but because Sarah could be accused of a contract killing. My job here is to see that nobody bothers her until she no longer wants my services. I'm a bodyguard and I am damn good at my job."

Olivia swirls her wine and takes a sip. She speaks quietly to her glass "But you failed in Paris." In her mind she hears Munch's advice and regrets making the statement.

Kyra nods sadly. "I let my guard down for a second. That will never happen again. Are you going to take me in?"

"No. The French don't seem to be too eager to question you and Paris is not in my jurisdiction. But don't tell me anything I don't need to know." Olivia says and Kyra nods.

Olivia continues "There is another question. I looked at a file…an old file…from 1931…" Olivia looks to Kyra who slowly and nearly imperceptibly nods in the affirmative, smiles slightly, but says nothing on the subject. Olivia gasps a bit.

"Drink your wine Detective." Kyra says and Olivia takes a large sip and sits down on the couch.

"It's not possible. I don't want to know." Olivia sighs.

"Yet the detective in you still demands answers." Kyra observes. Olivia nods. "Is that why you came here tonight?" Olivia nods. "You want to know who I am, but you are reluctant to find out things you'd rather not know." Olivia bows her head to look at the glass and swirls her wine. Kyra watches as does a nervous Sarah. "I understand your nature. I respect it. We are who we are Detective." Olivia looks up.

"Are you willing to go down the rabbit hole Alice?" Kyra asks with a slight mischievous smile and a glance to Sarah. Olivia is confused. "Select the red pill?" Olivia is still confused. "Are you willing to open your mind to possibilities beyond the limits of what you currently consider reality?"

"I don't know." Olivia responds.

"An honest answer, from what Sarah has told me about you, I believe that you are driven to seek justice. Sometimes that doesn't happen, but more often than not you find a way to make it work. You are a true believer, but not an unthinking zealot. You have pragmatism, but there are lines you will not cross no matter the cost." Kyra states and Olivia nods.

Kyra concludes "I think you are ready. You deserve to know." Olivia looks to Kyra and inhales slowly. She wishes she had not come, but neither can she bring herself to leave.

"I was born in Sparta about three thousand years ago." Kyra says casually. Olivia's mind reels as she tries to grasp what she just heard. "For most of my life I have been a soldier or a bodyguard. Right now, I protect Sarah. The best way to do that is to avoid problems before they can develop."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to understand that Sarah is safe and that I won't be doing anything that would cause you to worry."

"That is hard to believe." Olivia observes.

"That I'm not going to cause you to worry?" Kyra giggles.

"All of it." Olivia states.

Kyra nods "It is." Suddenly Kyra places her hand on a magazine on the counter and stabs it with a steak knife which was nearby. Olivia starts to move to help and Sarah looks like she's going to be sick. Kyra looks straight into Olivia's eyes and, with her face showing pain and determination; she slowly lifts her impaled hand sliding it up the blade to the hilt demonstrating her hand has been run through. Olivia crosses the room and wraps Kyra's hand in a dish towel leaving the knife in place to prevent further damage. But Kyra yanks the knife out and tosses it into the sink; her face registers the pain of its withdrawal. Olivia holds the injured hand tightly with the towel to reduce bleeding.

"Unnecessary." Kyra says as she pulls her hand from Olivia's grasp. She unwraps the towel, goes to the sink and rinses off the blood off. Olivia gasps as she sees the last of the wound heal before her eyes. Kyra holds up her now undamaged hand. Olivia examines Kyra's hand which shows neither scar nor damage. Kyra growls annoyed with Olivia for not simply taking her word on the matter. "Now do you believe?"

"My God." Olivia says in shock. Kyra nods.

"That was my reaction too, but all it took for me was her description of watching Mozart conduct. Only someone who actually lived it could have described it the way she did. It didn't take blood and pain." Sarah says, also annoyed at Olivia.

"It is all right Sarah. I spoke to you in the language that you understand. I spoke to Olivia in the language that she understands." A wry smile crosses Kyra's face. "Your language is beautiful and artful. Her language is bloody and painful, but perhaps more direct."

"I'm sorry." Olivia says.

"Never apologize for being who you are Olivia. Besides there is no need…" Kyra cautions. "…extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. But now I will ask that you keep what I am secret."

Olivia nods. "I will, but stay within the law. Actually, I still don't know what you are and nobody would believe me even if I told them what I've seen and heard." Olivia prepares to leave. Turning back she asks "How did you come to be Sarah's protector?"

Kyra shakes her head. She won't answer out of respect to her client. Olivia glances to Sarah who answers hesitantly. "In the thirties my great grandfather was well to do. He was kidnapped…" Olivia raises her hand cutting Sarah off; she does not want to hear anymore of the story. Sarah hugs Olivia. "Goodnight Olivia."

Olivia looks to Kyra and sees Kyra clearly nervous about the possibility receiving an unwanted hug. "Are you strapped?" Olivia asks.

"I've got a concealed carry permit." Kyra says as she slowly opens her zippered loose sweatshirt to reveal a large automatic handgun in a shoulder harness. "Forty-four, modified, makes bigger holes than your service piece." She slowly allows the sweatshirt to cover it again. "The permit is in my pocket Detective." Kyra slowly withdraws the permit and gives it to Olivia for inspection. Olivia sees that it is order and hands it back. She's not happy with civilians carrying weapons. Detective Benson reasons that there is also a sword hidden somewhere nearby, but she doesn't ask. She doesn't want to know anything more about any connection from Kyra to the headless body in Paris or the long dead mobsters killed by steel rather than lead.

"Keep that cannon locked up. We don't want it falling into the wrong hands. Goodnight." Olivia leaves; just as the door closes she sees Kyra recover a sword from under the couch and realizes it was within Kyra's reach during nearly all of her visit.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Detective Benson arrives back at the precinct to find Sergeant Munch watching for her. He pounces. "So what is it like to meet someone who looks so young but is actually about a hundred years old?"

"Let it go." Olivia responds.

Munch smiles smugly "So it is true. You people always make fun, but when confronted with an unlikely reality, you just deny, deny, deny."

Before their conversation goes any further they hear Captain Cragen calling for them. He orders Munch to a crime scene and to take Benson with him. The crime scene investigation people led by Dr. Warner are already on the scene. "You know what that means." Munch says as they head out "The scene is cold."

"Yes" Cragen says "and you'll be glad you haven't had a chance to eat this morning."

When the detectives arrive on the scene arrive they run into Medical Examiner, Dr. Warner on her way out of a small unused industrial building near the docks. "Brace yourselves before you go in there." She advises.

"That bad?" Olivia asks.

Warner nods. "I've never seen anything like that outside of an autopsy. She was cut apart. I have to get the remains back to my office, but I'd say she was killed quickly and then … dissected. Actually, I have seen something like that, but it was in a book on forensics…. Mary Kelly."

Olivia looks puzzled, she's heard that name before but can't quite recall where because she's thinking of modern cases. Munch supplies the answer. "Jack the Ripper's last victim. That is if you don't subscribe to the theory that he merely left Whitechapel and continued killing. There were murders across the US starting with New York which fit the same pattern shortly after the London killings ended. Some say they never stopped only paused occasionally. Nobody really knows." Warner nods slowly then continues on her way.

"They called him the 'Ripper' because he used a blade. There was a theory Jack was really Jill." Munch notes.

"Stop it. It wasn't her."

"How do you know?"

"Instinct"

"A psychopath can appear normal, even charming." Stating a fact Olivia already knows.

"It wasn't her." Olivia repeats. "I don't think she kills without very strong provocation."

"None the less, as soon as we're done here we should talk to her."

After completing their investigation of the scene they arrive at Sarah's apartment. Munch indicates Benson should knock which she reluctantly does. Before the door is opened, Munch slips his hand into his coat where his nine millimeter is holstered under his armpit. Benson looks at him and gives him a 'really?' look and he sheepishly withdraws his hand. The door opens with the chain still fastened. Kyra sees Olivia, unchains the door and opens it. "Hello again Detective." She says as Sarah appears from the bedroom.

"And who is this?" A surprised Kyra asks Olivia in reference to Munch when she sees him.

"Sergeant Munch, NYPD SVU." Munch says eying Kyra who is in turn watching him carefully.

"Uh huh" Kyra says while allowing them to enter, unseen by Olivia, Munch and Kyra exchange slight nods.

"There was a murder." Olivia says.

"Am I a suspect?"

"No, but the sergeant believes that the M.O. fits a known pattern."

"So you're going to question me, while he watches, ready to pounce?"

"The case he's thinking of is related to the one we're investigation now is a cold case, a very cold case, from the Whitechapel section of London." Olivia says ignoring Kyra's observation.

Kyra glances to Munch, then Sarah, then back to Olivia. "Let's you and I take a walk while your Sergeant chats with Sarah."

Munch shrugs in disappointment but says "Hello Sarah. How are your classes going?" As he goes further into the apartment and Kyra and Olivia depart.

Very soon Olivia finds herself on the roof of the building looking over the parapet next to Kyra. "So he's in town." Kyra sighs.

"Who?" Olivia asks.

"You know."

"I don't."

"Yes, you do. Make it real. Say it."

"Jack the Ripper?" Olivia asks incredulous.

"Kyra nods "That's the most common name he has in history. I assure you, he will have others." Kyra scans the skyline. "Get off of this case Olivia. Please, for Sarah, for me. This guy isn't like anything you've ever experienced. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"I can't just get off a case."

"What would you do if you caught him?"

"If he's Jack? If I had my way, lethal injection."

"Olivia, you could run gallons of that juice through him and it would make no difference. You could imprison him for life and he'll outlast the walls of the prison. Justice, as you know it, is not applicable to this man. I know I promised to stay within your laws, but if you don't get off this case, just get me close to him and then get to holy ground."

It takes a short moment for Olivia to digest the implication. "I can't sanction that."

"Let me tell you a story, we'll call it a hypothetical one, to illustrate what you are dealing with in this situation. There was a woman. She had a lot of experience at being a bodyguard. She was an employee of an international agency and was assigned protect a judge working a case involving a war criminal who had started wars and committed genocide for his own amusement and profit. This woman came to love the judge because he was like nobody she'd ever met. Being around him was like being in a warm beautiful light. But, although she told him that there was only one way to deal with a person like this man, she let him convince her that mortal justice would work, and it did up to a point. Then this evil man got free and he sent assassins after the judge and his bodyguard. The bodyguard, thinking he was still in custody, allowed herself a moment of pleasure and the judge was murdered and she barely escaped. Later this bodyguard found the man and his henchmen. She eliminated the henchmen and faced the evil man with a sword, the way it is done among their kind, and she defeated him, taking his head.

Olivia sighs.

"Yeah, well, so here's the question Olivia. Either Jack gets killed by another …. person of his kind, or eventually he will return to what he does. So how many women will die to preserve your sense of what is justice?"

"I'm starting to wish I never met you."

"Awwww Why?" Kyra says pouting and batting her eyes playfully. Olivia shakes her head. "Reality a bit unclear? Moral dilemma?" Kyra asks coquettishly. Olivia nods. Kyra becomes serious. "Not for me, he deserves to die. Well anyway, the first thing we have to figure out is what to tell Sergeant Munch."

"We tell him everything. He already knows something about you. He told me about what you did to the mobsters." Olivia says and Kyra nods.

"Don't tell anyone about me. You see people like me keep our existence and identities secret, not only because it allows mortals to live in peaceful ignorance but because there are only two real laws to our existence. Those laws are; first, that in the end, there can be only one, and second, that we are not allowed to fight on holy ground. We hide not only from mortals but also from others of our own kind. We are always both predator and prey."

"You want to surprise Jack and you don't want Munch or me to stop you."

Kyra nods. "I want to surprise him as much as possible, but we can sense the presence of others like ourselves."

Kyra pauses a long time. "Those men I killed in '31 …. They fired first. They killed me. When I recovered…. in front of them… I had no choice. I didn't go there to kill them. Olivia, I kill only when I have to, not because I like it. I'm not a monster." To Olivia's shock, Kyra says the last part as a plea for her approval.

"Kyra, I never thought you were a monster." Olivia responds with a white lie.

"Thank you. I sometimes wonder myself. In the end there can only be one. It is said that one will rule the Earth. If an immortal such as Jack were to be that one…."

"How do we find a guy like Jack?" Olivia asks.

"You investigate like you normally would. I've never met him so I can't give you a description of a current alias. I can tell you if a suspect is like me. I can tell you if I know that an immortal suspect is someone I know and is not him. He will carry a sword as I do. His identity will be a fraud probably created in the last ten or twenty years. It is the only way to cover the fact that we don't age. He isn't likely to be very smart. If he was smart, he would not draw attention to himself. Yet he must be cunning in some way or very good with a sword or he would have fallen victim to another immortal already. The NYPD should consult with one of those… Ripperologists, or whatever they call them, could be they have some ideas that could be useful. Your profilers should be helpful too, but also keep in mind that he is a product not of this time but of the Victorian Age. From what I've heard, he became immortal not long before he started killing. Also, you've got to move quickly. He won't stay in New York long."

"Thank you. That will be helpful." Olivia says and Kyra nods. "But I'm not leading you to him."

Kyra smiles a wry smile. "You're like Richard. Honest. True. You don't want money or power; you're beyond corruption, compassionate… and doomed. She hated you you know, because you didn't convict her attacker. But, she came to appreciate you."

"Why?"

"I suppose because she realized you tried as hard as a person could. She is also a true believer. She sees the sees the good in people. She appreciates the effort even if it results in failure."

"But not you."

"No. My experience is more …. binary, live or die. Two immortals meet, there are three possible outcomes and two of them are bad." Kyra chuckles. "Would it surprise you to learn that I've had immortals as lovers?" A lonely smile comes to Kyra.

Kyra turns and gazes out at the city once more. "Last time I was here, they grazed sheep over there. Now even the lay of the land has changed. I had to study a map to figure it out."

Kyra continues. "Olivia, I don't know why, but this guy hates women. My guess is he considers them weak. I've met many men like that, mortal and immortal. But he fears them too. From what I've read, the wounds were nearly all postmortem. He attacks from surprise. The first wound is quickly fatal. You won't get a second chance. He's not going to talk or hesitate, he will strike the second the time is right. There will be no warning. Your empathy will work against you." Olivia looks at Kyra with a mixture of compassion and horror. "We should head back. You shoot this guy at the first opportunity and then get away from him. Go to holy ground, a church, cemetery, something like that. We're not allowed to fight on holy ground. It is tradition. None of us will violate that rule." Kyra heads back toward the roof access door.

As they head down the stairs Kyra asks "Do you have a man in your life, a good man?"

"Never seems to last." Olivia responds.

"There is an old friend of mine in town. He came in from Seacouver for the antique show. His name is Duncan Macleod. You should show him the town."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"He's a nice guy. You'll have a good time. Besides, I'd feel better knowing you aren't alone."

"Wait a minute, when you say an 'old' friend…"

"He's young."

"How young?" Olivia says relieved but a bit still suspicious.

"He's only about four hundred." Olivia stops dead in her tracks. Kyra's eyes crinkle in mirth. "I was robbing the cradle when I bedded him when I was protecting Queen Ann from Cardinal Richelieu's people."

"Wait a minute." Olivia says her mind trying to wrap itself around all she's learned.

"I'll have him meet you in front of the station house. He probably won't be able to go in" ignoring Olivia's plea.

"Why?" Olivia asks suspiciously.

"Metal detectors. If you hit it off, later you can show him your piece and maybe he'll show you his most handsome katana." Kyra enjoys watching Olivia squirm.

"I'm not like that."

"It's up to you. But enjoy his company at least. Please?"

"Okay." Olivia concedes.

"You may find that you have more in common with him than you think. Don't let him know that I told you he's older than he looks."

They arrive back at Sarah's apartment. As they approach the apartment door, they hear Munch and Sarah discussing the history of jazz. Munch is explaining about how the red light district known as Storyville spread appreciation for jazz and that is was a rare place where races mixed fairly freely at the turn of the last century. Munch thanks Sarah and they leave.

In the car on the way back Munch asks "Well?"

"She made some useful suggestions. Do you know any Ripperologists?"

Munch hits the brakes and pulls the car to the curb. "Do you mean?" There is some honking due to his sudden maneuver.

"Yeah. But, it isn't going in any reports. Let's just say we're looking at a copycat."

Munch grins a grin worthy of the Grinch invading Whoville. "I've been waiting my whole career for this moment." He says.

"We keep this to ourselves Munch, for her, for Sarah. Besides, nobody would believe. We'd lose all credibility."

"No problem. It's nice to actually be on the inside of the conspiracy for once." Munch says as he pulls back out in traffic. Munch is still grinning but Olivia is looking out the side window increasingly troubled. "What?" Munch asks. Olivia shakes her head and continues to look out the passenger side window. "What?"

"Have you ever considered killing a suspect?"

"No… and you shouldn't be either. Well, only in self defense."

"Just drive."

Munch stops the car again to the sound of blaring horns "Yeah, to you too!" he yells to one driver. "'Liv, as tempting as it may be our role is just to be a cog in the rusty not so trusty machine of justice. We're not judge, jury, and executioner."

"What if I just let it slip where a perp might be found and then waited awhile before trying to make the collar?" Olivia speculates as she looks out the window.

"It's still wrong. I can't believe you of all people are even giving this a second thought; Stabler, maybe, but you? Never. I respect that about you."

Olivia continues to look out the window away from Munch. Munch pulls back out into traffic and turns down a side street and parks near a local tavern. He calls in that the two are going to get some lunch. Lost in thought Olivia follows Munch into the dark recesses as Munch gestures to the barkeeper and exchanges a cautious glance and a nod with a man sitting at the bar who is the only other patron. Munch and Olivia take a booth near the back and soon a waitress appears with two glasses of seltzer. "My 'on duty' usual twice Alice." Munch says waiving off the menus and holding up two fingers. "Best vanilla eggcream in the city 'Liv." He says.

Olivia is still lost in thought. But now she's also thinking of the large muscular man with the ponytail sitting at the bar when they walked by on their way in. Olivia isn't thrilled with the ponytail, but seeing a good looking single man reminds her of the blind date she reluctantly agreed to. Olivia glances discreetly watching the stranger. He receives a phone call. Her heart sinks as it is clear from his tone it is likely from a girlfriend. She strains to hear. She thinks she hears him say 'Kyra' but it seems too unlikely. "Earth to Olivia." Munch says snapping her back into the present.

"Sorry" Olivia says.

"Don't tell the others, it doesn't fit my carefully crafted single malt image, but a vanilla egg cream is my guilty pleasure every now and then."

Olivia again strains to listen to the guy at the bar. But can't quite make out what is being said. But then she recognizes her own name. At first she thought it might be Munch or her imagination. She can stand it no longer. She excuses herself and nervously walks over as the man puts away his phone. "Excuse me. Did you say Olivia Benson?"

The man is startled. "As a matter of fact, I did. Do you know her?"

"I do. What do you want with her?"

"Well I'm in town for a convention…" The man suddenly pauses and then resumes. "I know how that how that sounds. You aren't a cop are you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Olivia echoes Duncan's phrase and shows him her shield.

"I'm Duncan MacLeod. A friend of mine named Kyra suggested I get a tour of the city … There's no way to say this without it sounding dirty is there?"

"I'm Detective Olivia Benson, Special Victims Unit, also a friend of Kyra's."

A look of relief comes across Duncan's face. "Well, unlike me, you seem to have gotten through that awkward first meeting unscathed." He says. "I'm at your disposal. When would you like me to pick you up?"

"Call me when you're ready and I'll meet you here." Olivia writes an address on the back of her business card and hands it to Duncan.

"That may be sooner than you think. I'm inspired to conclude my business early." Duncan says with a grin as he puts the card into his coat pocket.

A second man, slightly taller and slender, with a short classic haircut returns from the men's room. He smiles warily at Olivia as he pulls out the stool on the opposite side of Duncan and stands beside it. "That didn't take long, even for you." He says under his breath to Duncan. Olivia can't help but think that the second guy resembles 'Jughead' of the cartoon series "The Archies."

Duncan shakes his head. "She's a friend of Kyra's."

The man offers his hand and Olivia discreetly pockets her shield before shaking his hand. In shaking her hand Olivia notices he gives her an increasingly firm grip making a subtle challenge to return it which she does. He is deceptively strong. He relaxes and releases her hand.

"And a police officer. I'm Adam Pierson."

"How did you know I'm with the Department?" Olivia asks.

"I didn't, for sure, until now." Adam says smiling having seen her put her shield away but not completely sure of what it was. Little to nothing misses his observation, but he gives up little to none.

"Kyra suggested that Olivia might like to show me around town. I don't think she knows you're in town as well." Duncan says as Adam squirms a bit. "Perhaps she has a friend for you or would like to show you around herself."

"I'll be fine. People I haven't been introduced to, I get shy." Olivia notes that Adam regards Kyra with a bit of fear. Oddly, despite his apparent confidence, Olivia detects that Adam is nervous around her but many are around cops and she gives it no more thought. "Besides, I heard that they are having a recital at Columbia. There will be some original compositions by students. It could be interesting."

The waitress passes by with two eggcreams. "I have to go." To Duncan, Olivia adds "Don't lose that number." Then she returns to where Munch is watching.

"Ricky don't lose that number, it's the only one you own." Adam teases Duncan in song quietly into his glass of beer just before taking a swig.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that evening, Olivia arrives at Sarah's apartment and finds Duncan pleasantly chatting with Kyra and Sarah. Sarah is obviously impressed with Duncan. "Oh look at the time. I have to get ready." Sarah says and heads for her room. "Don't leave until you see me dressed up."

"I was just thanking Kyra for calling me. They've told me a lot about you, but not too much."

"Got to leave a little mystery…" Olivia flirts and Kyra smiles.

After Sarah returns and shows off her formal dress, Olivia and Duncan leave.

Hours later Adam has settled in to watch the recital from a seat near a side exit. He is most impressed with the aggressive piano playing of a young student with the face of a cherub. Her innocence and vulnerability remind him of Alexa, his now deceased girlfriend. A lump develops in his throat.

When the program is over he's in no rush to leave and spends a few moments looking at the artwork in the lobby. He notices the blond musician waiting alone not far from the ladies room. He screws his courage up and approaches her. She smiles as he approaches.

"That was very good. Was it your own composition?" Adam asks.

"It was. I'm so glad you liked it. Some consider it too dark."

"That's part of what intrigued me. You seem so innocent, but there was a … pain in that piece. You have an old soul."

"I was working through some stuff when I wrote it. Thank you."

Suddenly an overwhelming sense of dread comes over Adam. His head turns to find the source. A blond woman is walking out of the ladies room and straight toward him on a mission. Her hand slides under the left lapel of her long coat palm outward and thumb down. "Sarah. What did I tell you about talking to strangers? Step back." Adam starts to back up but Kyra grabs him by the left side of his coat with her left hand. "Who are you?" Kyra hisses pointedly but quietly enough not to attract attention.

"Kyra?" Adam asks.

"You know me?"

"Only by reputation, a reputation I respect." Adam makes no provocative moves.

"I still don't know who you are."

"Adam Pierson. I'm a friend of Duncan's. I met Olivia this afternoon. I know they are out on the town at your suggestion. If I knew you were guarding this young lady, I would not have approached her without your permission."

Kyra lets go of Adam's coat where she had gripped his sword, but her right hand remains on the hilt of her own. "Sit." Kyra commands nodding to some benches. To her surprise and annoyance, both Adam and Sarah sit on the same bench. Watching the two of them, Kyra backs off a little and calls Duncan. A moment later Kyra comes closer. "Your story checks out. But stay away from Sarah."

Kyra takes Sarah home, but she remains agitated. Sarah is also agitated and complains that Kyra doesn't let her have fun or meet anybody.

The next morning Kyra and Sarah are both sullen and eating breakfast in silence when Kyra senses another immortal nearby followed shortly by a knock on the door. Kyra moves to the door and peeks out with the door still on the chain. Seeing Duncan she opens the door. She is surprised to see Adam with him.

"May we come in?" Duncan asks. Kyra lets them in. Sarah is pleased to see them, but is suddenly embarrassed to realize she is still wearing her pink flowered pajamas. She moves silently to her bedroom for a quick change into something more mature.

"I just wanted you to know that he really is a friend. Also, we thought the two of you might like to come out to get some breakfast. But I see we're too late." Duncan adds glancing to the table which contains the remnants of breakfast.

"We can go." Sarah says reentering the room now dressed for visitors.

Kyra fights herself for a second and then agrees. They head out. Sarah maneuvers to walk next to Adam. Arriving at a coffee shop Sarah times her slide into the booth so that she is opposite Adam. Soon there are two independent conversations with Sarah and Adam discussing music and Kyra and Duncan discussing his night out with Olivia. Sarah is surprised that Adam knows a lot about music of different periods. Time speeds by.

"Are you a student Adam?" Sarah asks.

Adam nods "I have been a student of many things."

"Where are you from? I can't place your accent."

"I've traveled a lot."

"They are having a show of Egyptian artifacts at the museum. I'm told it is very exciting." Sarah says.

"It sounds interesting."

"I thought you called it a three thousand year old garage sale." Duncan interjects.

"Well, if I were going with you it would be." Adam counters. "But with the right company…" Sarah giggles and beams.

"Can I go?" Sarah asks Kyra.

"You can. But only if Duncan and I or ….. Duncan and Olivia are tagging along."

"I think Olivia may be tied up. Some big case she's working on. She wouldn't tell me." Duncan observes.

"Yes, the case." Kyra says. "You be careful and keep an eye on Olivia."

"I'd love too, but …" Duncan says.

"Turn on that Scottish charm Mac. She needs a good time. She needs to get her mind on some happy times."

"I'm trying."

Later back in the apartment Sarah is working on a new composition. "He's nice isn't he? Adam I mean. They're both nice though." Sarah asks.

"Sarah, they are both like me. I don't know Adam. But Duncan is about four hundred years old. We were once lovers and we've been friends for a long time."

"So Adam has had a lot of time to learn … stuff." Sarah says with a slight wriggle.

"Probably; you be careful Sarah. Don't get attached."

"We should go out with them again. Olivia should come too."

Meanwhile, Detective Benson and other officers are showing a rendering of the Ripper's victim to the working girls. Benson catches a glimpse on a semi-familiar figure that seems to melt into the shadows of an ally before her eyes. She moves quickly to the entrance of the ally and finds Adam waiting for her.

"Adam isn't it? What are you doing here?"

"Detective Benson." Adam nods. "I'm just out for a walk."

"Here?"

"Olivia, until the person you are seeking has left town or is dead, you will not be alone."

"You mean arrested."

"I mean dead or gone. If he escapes, he'll just go on killing somewhere else but you'll no longer be at risk. There will always be another killer for you to apprehend."

"You don't have to tell me that, but there will be one less."

Olivia hears Munch call her, she turns and answers, and when she turns back she's alone in the ally, Adam has left as mysteriously as a ghost.

Later that day Olivia decides to test what Adam said and she takes up a position in Central Park where there is little cover and long sight lines. She watches looking for Adam, Kyra, or Duncan. After some time, she realizes that he could be a long way off and still watch her unseen. She walks through paths in the bramble which provide for more privacy only to randomly reverse course to see if she's being followed but she doesn't see any of them. Finally she sits on a bench next to a man with his head buried in a newspaper to rest and think of another tactic. If she doesn't get back soon, Munch and Captain Cragen will become concerned. She glances at the guy next to her and sees it is Adam.

"You're good Detective."

"How?"

"I have my ways. Become fully aware of your environment and you will be difficult to surprise."

"You aren't going to warn me not to let a stranger get this close?"

"You mean the Ripper? You know how a stranger in a city finds a place where they can murder in privacy." Adam says.

Olivia answers "They don't, the victims do it for them. They are prostitutes. They know where to go transact their business away from observation. The Ripper just goes with them. Once there, it is over before they can make a sound."

Adam adds "You would not go with a stranger so an attack on you would be different. It could be a friend or acquaintance that you would not expect. The Ripper stays out in the open where there are witnesses for protection except when ready to attack. The biggest fear is not of the police. The biggest fear is another of us. Look in crowds or on holy ground. Holy ground is the only place we are safe and sword fights are unlikely in a modern crowd."

"Thanks. That could be helpful."

"Don't be looking for somebody dressed like a character out of a Dickens novel. The Ripper will blend in. Where did you find the body?"

"An abandoned industrial building near the docks"

"Low level prostitute… Was that the first body?"

"Yeah"

"Talk to the lowest level prostitutes. It may be time to move on and kill some before leaving. The Ripper won't have had sex with any of them. It is strike, or call it off… one pass and haul ass. Eliminate any new John's that got sex from any of them."

"How do you know so much about him?"

Adam chuckles. "Elementary my dear Watson." Olivia is annoyed. "You would know much the same thing if you knew what the suspect is and our ways. By the way, if your fellow detectives decide to put you out there as bait, it won't work."

"I can do a pretty good acting job."

"I'm sure you can. An immortal will always be nearby. The Ripper may not see through your act but will sense another immortal nearby and avoid you."

"Yeah well…"

Adam smiles "There are more of us than the three you know. If you try to hold us, somebody else will still be with you. Accept it, you have guardians Olivia."

Olivia shakes her head in resignation. Adam grins. "You are under the protection of people who would chill you to the marrow if you knew their true histories. Sleep well; we've got your back."

"Duncan?"

"Oh, his past is not for me to reveal..." Adam's grin becomes impish. "Seeing him again?"

"I had been planning to…"

"You'll be fine. Incidentally, we cannot have children and we don't carry disease."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Something to keep in mind … just in case…" Adam continues to have a boyish grin, Olivia glares at him. "You have much in common with him, more than you would suspect."


	4. Chapter 4

Later in the day Olivia, Munch, and some other detectives are showing the victims sketch to low level streetwalkers when Olivia gets a call. "Slow down Sarah, what are you trying to tell me." Olivia listens for awhile and then thanks Sarah. She pulls Munch away from the others and tells him "Sarah called. She only had a few minutes alone. But she wanted me to know that they are up to something."

"They who?"

"The really old people, they are up to something. Adam said they were protecting me, but I don't think that fits with what Sarah said."

"Who's Adam? Wait, there are more of them?"

"Yeah. Adam was the second guy I talked to when you took me for the egg cream."

"How many of them are there?"

"More than three, I mean more than four. I don't know. He said there will always be one near me until Jack has left town or he's dead."

"You mean in custody."

"Yeah, that's what I said too, but they mean literally dead. Adam said he fears his own kind, that he won't come near me because he'll sense one of them… My God, I think I know what they are doing." Olivia's eyes open wide.

"What?"

"They are driving him, herding him. He's not the hunter, he's the hunted. They live in secret, he could expose all of them if it were to come out that he's actually Jack. They can't let that happen."

"Olivia, with the subways, busses, and all of the transportation in the city how can they seal him in?"

"I don't know. I know they hide from each other, but this could hurt them all. We don't know how many there are… Doesn't she work in the file room?" Olivia suddenly asks looking at a nondescript young woman carrying flyers for the detectives. "She doesn't do field work."

"Betty? We're shorthanded and she volunteered. There will be trouble with the shop steward though." Munch says as Olivia walks by him.

Olivia walks right up to Betty and without saying a word puts her hand on the left side of Betty's coat. Betty is startled and Olivia apologizes, starts to turn away, but the turns back and feels Betty's right side. Betty smiles slightly as Olivia glares back "You?"

"I've got your back Detective Benson." Betty says.

Olivia moves Betty over to where Munch is still standing. Olivia unbuttons Betty's coat and opens it to show Munch the sword. "If I didn't remember she's left handed I might have missed it. How many of you people are there?"

"Enough. Let us do what needs to be done."

"Murder? I don't think so." Detective Benson informs Betty.

"When somebody like me is killed, the police don't care. We have no families to pressure the police. The police find out that we have no real past. The case quickly goes cold and ends up in a box in archives. The same thing will happen with him as would happen with me. I care about you, but you don't care about me."

"That's not true." Olivia objects.

"Really? How long have I worked in Records?"

"About three years." Olivia replies with a guess.

"Try ten. Have you ever noticed I don't age? Did you think I started this job at fifteen?"

"Well, I…."

"Of course you didn't. I appear to be the same age as I was at my first death, twenty five. Very soon, I'll have to leave Betty behind and start a new life leaving my few friends behind. I can't stay anywhere long enough for people to notice me. I'm a piece of furniture." Betty's eyes grow wet. "I would have been proud to call you friend."

"Betty, I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I'm here to protect you. I don't know that I could actually defeat him. I'm not very good with my sword, but just being here should be enough. Besides, being asked for a favor by Duncan MacLeod… hoo… That was a surprise. He's almost as big a hero to me as you are."

"Betty, my friend, I'll tell the Captain I need you assigned to this case." Betty's eyes light up. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you, really?"

"Thank you so much. I'm old enough to be your grandmother."

"You're welcome. You'd better get back to what you were doing. But when we're done here, ride with us." Betty beams with pride.

After she's out of earshot Munch says "Well she doesn't seem like a homicidal maniac…"

"Yeah, but she's still advocating we let her friends run this guy down and kill him." Olivia shakes her head as she ponders. "Keeping her close, maybe we'll get a better idea what they are up to before we find a nameless headless corpse."

"What did she mean 'first death'?" Munch asks.

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"I know that they kill each other, they sense each others presence, that in the end there can only be one of them, that some undefined power goes to the winner, and that they aren't allowed to fight on holy ground. Now we know they don't age after their first death whatever that is."

"I think it is literally their first death. It fits with what we know of Kyra's abilities."

Later, in the car headed for their next stop Olivia asks Betty "Would you like to get a sword fighting lesson from Duncan?"

"In my dreams, but I don't see it happening."

"I've got a date with him tonight. You're coming along." Betty smiles ear to ear. Olivia adds "Maybe Kyra will come too."

"Kyra? She's in town?" Betty responds.

"Yeah. She's guarding Sarah Walsh. You remember Sarah?"

Betty nods. "Kyra is one of the oldest of us. She has a lot of kills."

"Uh huh" Olivia responds taking in this fact about her new friend. "Who is the most feared?"

"There is one who is sort of an urban legend. I don't know if he ever actually existed. You can read about him in the Bible."

"Satan?" Munch asks.

"No Methos."

"I've never heard that name in Sunday school." Olivia says.

"Revelations 6:8, but it doesn't give his name." Betty explains.

"Being of the Tribe, I'm more of an Old Testament guy myself." Munch mutters.

Betty quotes, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

"Oh THAT guy." Munch says ironically.

"We only say his name in hushed tones. The story is that The Four Horsemen were actually four immortals at the dawn of history, older even than Kyra."

Early in the evening Olivia gathers up Betty, wearing fresh clothes, and they head off to meet Duncan at a gym frequented by off duty police. As they arrive the place is closing up for the night. The attendant tells Olivia to turn off the lights and make sure the door is latches when she leaves since it's been sticking. Within a few minutes Betty becomes nervous and looks to the door.

There is a knock. "Relax." Olivia cautions as she opens the door and admits Duncan and Adam. Betty is nearly giddy to meet Duncan. But in a moment, all three immortals look to the door. Duncan checks and then admits Kyra and Sarah.

"Oh God." Betty breathes in a hush.

"You're okay. Don't toss your cookies or anything." Olivia reassures and warns Betty, but she also looks for signs of nausea.

Kyra approaches Betty. "No need to be afraid. So you want to learn?" Betty nervously nods. "Didn't your teacher…"

"She started to, but then she was killed. I've been alone ever since."

"Well, how about I teach you for awhile?" Kyra offers.

Betty looks confused and looks to Duncan who responds "I've got to get back to Seacouver pretty soon." Betty looks disappointed.

Kyra looks hurt much to Betty's surprise. "I'm as good as any man with a blade, and I can teach a woman better than any man."

"She's certainly right … about the last part." Duncan says with a grin.

"Let's find out." Kyra responds withdrawing her sword.

"NO!" Olivia yells as Duncan withdraws his katana.

Kyra and Duncan walk to a bench and place their coats and swords on them. Kyra sees some baseball bats near the batting cages and retrieves two of them. "Better Olivia?" she asks. She tosses one to Duncan and the two walk to the center of the floor. "Say 'go' Olivia."

"We're here so you two can teach Betty how to use her sword." Olivia scolds.

"First, a little demonstration." Kyra says. "Let's dance!"

In a split second the two are going at it hard, much to Sarah's horror. Adam tries to distract Sarah by asking about her music. But after a couple minutes the duel literally becomes a dance and Duncan dips Kyra toward Olivia as they both laugh. Olivia relaxes. Betty has watched the fight closely.

Kyra then instructs Betty on how to hold her blade and some footwork techniques. To Olivia's surprise Adam approaches her and offers to show her how to use a sword. Olivia is reluctant but relents. Soon Olivia is holding Duncan's katana and Adam is guiding her into different stances and positions. She feels comfortable with his gentle touch and puts aside the notion that he might be fondling her. In her ear he whispers "Notice, I've never been weaponless. Remember that. Our kind cannot afford to be too trusting, even with our friends." A feeling like an electric shock goes through Olivia, but she doesn't know why.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Betty does not report for work. Instead Captain Cragen receives a call informing him that she was found decapitated. After he makes an announcement to the Squad, Olivia asks to be put on the case. She's ordered to stay on the current case and trust the homicide team to do its job. To Cragan's surprise and Olivia's shock, it is Sergeant Munch who speaks up. "Captain, I used to work Homicide in Baltimore. Those guys are good, but I think we have special insight which could be useful. Also, the cases may be related." Cragan allows for them to assist briefly, but unless there is a connection they are to drop it.

Olivia and Munch investigate the scene and answer questions from the Homicide detectives. Olivia begins to feel more like a conspirator than a detective as she evades questions which could be connected to Betty using a sword. The scene is dominated by broken glass from nearby windows.

"Notice anything missing?" Munch asks out of earshot of the others. Olivia nods. Betty's sword is not present. "Let's go. We have several people to talk to." He concludes and Olivia nods.

Before they leave, Olivia asks that swabs of the blood also be sent to Dr. Warner.

As they drive away, Olivia says "Did you notice the broken glass and the smell of ozone?"

"Hard to miss."

"What do you suppose it means?" Olivia asks and Munch shrugs.

"What would she have been doing here at night? They found her because of a 911 call about an explosion at 3:00 A.M. You don't suppose she was looking for Jack on her own?" Olivia ponders.

Their next stop is Sarah's apartment. She informs Kyra and Sarah of Betty's death and watches their reactions. Both are shocked. Except for each other, they have no alibis.

Her next stop is to track down Duncan. He has no alibi from the time everybody left the gym until he arrived at the antique show the next morning. But nobody has he seen Adam since the previous night at all.

A search reveals nothing of the whereabouts of Adam Pierson. In fact there is no record of his existence before about fifteen years earlier. Eventually Olivia goes back to the Squad Room, she hears Betty's voice in her head about how if she's killed the case will go cold and nobody will care. Olivia is determined that will not happen.

While the Homicide team works, Olivia privately calls with her cell phone Dr. Warner alone leaving Munch searching the internet and law enforcement records on their private list of suspects. "Are there tests that can be done on DNA to determine its age?"

"You mean how old the sample is?"

"No, I mean how old the source is."

"Yeah, but not in small increments of time, it can only differentiate differences of hundreds or thousands of years. It is useless to determine a person's age."

"Run it on her blood and any other samples that aren't hers along with the normal tests. But on the age, don't put it in the report to Homicide. Tell only me in person."

"Olivia, what is it?"

"I don't know."

The following day Olivia gets a call from Dr. Warner asking her to come to the Medical Examiner's office alone. Upon her arrival there, Dr. Warner takes Olivia to her office and closes the door. "Olivia, I've still got the chills. Why did you ask me to run those tests?"

"Let's call it a hunch."

"Some hunch. What I found cannot exist. It is simply impossible."

"Try me. The blood was hundreds of years old right?"

"No Olivia it wasn't, it was thousands. The two people who were in that ally were both thousands of years old. Well, Betty's was just over one thousand. The other, there were very few samples, was male, and it was seven thousand years old. I ran the tests personally several times. What does it mean Olivia?"

"I don't know. But when I find out, I'll let you know. Tell nobody else."

"Olivia, there is something else. She'd been run through, likely with a sword. What I didn't put in my report was that it was partially healed. The wound would have been fatal if not treated surgically. She would have bled out in minutes. But there was no sign of medical attention.


	6. Chapter 6

Arriving at her apartment after a long and confusing day Olivia finds a long package delivered to her door. She wearily opens her door and takes the package inside. Olivia gets some leftovers from the refrigerator and puts them in the microwave. After eating, she remembers the package. She opens the box and finds a long tube inside. Puzzled she opens the tube to find Betty's sword. Olivia gasps and pushes it away. She puts on latex gloves and puts the sword carefully on the table. Then she sees a letter that was also in the tube. She carefully unfolds it and reads.

Olivia,

By the time you read this, I will be long gone. The woman you knew as "Betty" wasn't who you thought. More important, she wasn't who Kyra thought. Kyra trusts women too much and "Betty" was hunting her. She would have surprised Kyra and killed her. Although I never met Kyra before, I have read her file and I respect her. Also, I feared for Sarah.

The sword is yours as it was hers. It is an Ulfberht. It has great monetary value but don't sell it. Learn to use it. Unlike your automatic, it will never fail you.

Don't bother looking for me. I know how not to be found. But we may meet again, perhaps long from now. I look forward to that day.

Your friend,

Adam

Olivia sits reading and rereading the letter.

"Figure it out yet Olivia?" someone says from behind her. Before she can react she's placed in a head lock. She reaches for her shoulder holster but her right wrist is grabbed. Olivia is dragged off to the bathroom and thrown to the floor. Landing on her back, she finally gets her hand on her weapon, but it is too late. Her attacker dispatches her with several shots to the chest from a sound suppressed automatic. As her world fades to black Adam still sighting her with his gun says "You can thank me later." and pulls the trigger for a coup de grace.

Olivia suddenly wakes up as if from a nightmare. She finds herself in bed but has no idea how she got there. Also, she realizes that she's naked under the covers. There is a taste of blood in her mouth. Looking to the window, she sees it is already light out. She has a feeling of fear which suddenly becomes focused toward the open door. She hears footsteps and retrieves her personal weapon from the nightstand.

Adam enters the room to find her pointing her gun at him. "Good. You're awake."

"Hands on top of your head! Interlace your fingers! Back up toward my voice slowly!"

"Really? A gun?" Adam says smiling. "At least let me put down your breakfast." Adam slowly puts down a mug of coffee and a plate. He then assumes the position. As Olivia slides out of bed Adam continues talking as Olivia looks for her spare handcuffs. "Do you have any idea how kinky this must look?"

"Shut up." Olivia commands.

"Olivia, you took three rounds through the chest last night. Yet here you are feeling pretty spry and your more than ample chest is still perfect."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, you had your first death last night. I shot you in the bathroom to avoid getting blood on your carpet and furniture. May I turn around and put my hands down now?"

"Just a minute." Olivia puts on her robe. "Okay." Adam turns around to see Olivia still pointing her gun at him.

"Point your gun at me if it makes you feel better."

Olivia moves to peek into the bathroom all the time keeping the gun pointed toward Adam. There is a large amount of blood and a pile of bloody clothing that she realizes is hers.

"I left that in case you needed to see it to believe. If you look by the sink, you'll find the slugs." Olivia looks and there are three badly deformed slugs. "I undressed you, cleaned you up, and put you in your bed. I thought it would make it less shocking."

"You undressed me?" Olivia says accusingly.

"Yes." Adam chuckles. "I killed you and what you're bothered by most is that I've seen you naked?" Olivia continues to point her gun at Adam.

Adam walks out to the living room and returns with the Ulfberht and tosses it on the bed. "If you're going to threaten me, that is what you should use. You took hours to recover, I assure you I won't. The gun is nearly useless. Not that you stand much chance with the sword, but it is still better than with the gun."

Olivia's head is in a whirl. She lowers the gun and sits on the bed.

"You already know more about us than all but a select few. But let's cover the fine points. In case it hasn't registered. You will no longer age. You will never get sick. You will still feel pain, but you will recover from every injury that leaves your head attached. You can't get pregnant. Other immortals may try to kill you, so trust none. You are safe only on holy ground. The sensation you are now feeling is the quickening. It is how we recognize others of our kind, even if they have not had their first death.

"We're not having this conversation." Olivia says.

"It is unusual to deliberately cause a first death. But since you already knew about us… Well, I figured you'd be less likely to talk if you knew you were one of us. Besides, you're at a good age."

"So when you were saying there would always be one of you with me, you also meant because Jack would sense me."

"Uh huh."

All during the conversation Olivia periodically tugs at the sash of her robe drawing in tighter and tighter. "If you tighten your robe any more, you will cut off the circulation to your legs. Why don't you have your breakfast and put your work clothes on. You've already been bathed. I'll be right out there. You've got to be at work in about an hour." Adam leaves the bedroom and closes the door.

When Olivia emerges she finds Adam eating a bagel and drinking a coffee. "Feeling better?" He asks.

Olivia nods. "How can I just go to work like nothing happened?"

"You don't know all of it yet. You will never see the world the same again. You have new abilities which will make you far more effective as a detective, but you can't tell anyone about them. You will learn that you aren't the only one of our kind in the NYPD. Those that work near you have always known what you are, but now for the first time you will sense them as well. Olivia, it's the first day of school."

"What abilities?"

Adam goes to the window, pulls open the drapes, and motions Olivia to follow. "See the guy selling newspapers at the corner?" Olivia moves to the window, looks and nods. "Concentrate on him. Reach out with your mind. Feel his heart beating? Feel his breathing?"

Olivia tries for a moment. "I do!"

"I'll leave it to you to decide how to use this ability in interviews, interrogations, and looking for suspects or hidden victims." Adam casually eats his bagel, folding it half in half so as not to get butter on his face. Olivia smiles thinking about how she can use this ability in conjunction with her intuition.

Suddenly Olivia stops smiling. "You killed Betty, didn't you?"

"I did. It wasn't the smart move. The smart move would have been to allow her to surprise and kill Kyra. Kyra is far more of swordsman than Betty and more of a threat to me in the long run. I could have just left town and let it happen. Also, having killed her, the smart move would be to disappear. That was my plan when I left the sword for you. But I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes. Like I said, knowing will make it less likely to talk about what you've already learned. Also, you deserve to know what you are. In the end there can be only one and the world could do a lot worse than you. You see, in order to trigger the latent abilities in a pre-immortal not just any death will serve. It must be a violent death. You could die of disease or natural causes and never know what you are. If you suffered a violent death in the course of your duties, you would need to cease being Detective Olivia Benson in order to hide what you are. This way, you are the 'new and improved' Olivia Benson and few will know."

"I'm going to need to take you in."

"You will find that there is no evidence to convict me."

"There was blood of a seven thousand year old male at the scene. I had tests run. I know she was older than the she said she was."

"And what does that tell you?"

"That you are very old. Also, we can match your blood to the sample from the crime scene and put you there."

"Stop thinking like a mortal detective for a moment, what does the age of my blood tell you?"

Olivia shakes her head a moment and then suddenly "Methos?"

Adam nods. "Correct. There are very few immortals who know who I am. Duncan does. Kyra doesn't. But you are one of only two to know that I'm older than the five thousand I admit even to those like Duncan."

Olivia pales. Then she suddenly runs for her bedroom and her sword. But she is tackled from behind before she gets more than a few steps. Adam pins her to the floor.

"If I wanted you dead, you would have been dead last night."

"Last night, you didn't know that I know who you are."

"Good. You are starting to think like an immortal. But, if you were really good at it you would not have revealed that you knew." To Olivia's horror Adam uses her own cuffs to restrain her. "While I've got you like this, there are some other things you should know."

Adam pulls Olivia from the floor and sits her on the couch. "Life is about change. What you may have heard about me was probably true. It also probably did not go far enough. But I'm not like that anymore."

"But you killed Betty."

"I would not have had to if you had not led her to Kyra."

"I didn't know."

"I'm not blaming you Olivia, merely explaining."

"I'm sorry."

"Olivia, she was hunting. She would have used any means to get close to Kyra or any other old female immortal. She had a thousand years of practice in how to manipulate people and you had no idea what she was. Don't blame yourself."

Olivia's emotions whelm up. The last twelve hours are too much. Adam holds her. "I know Olivia, I know. At least you don't have to face what most of us face, being driven from our families… or burned as a witch. The reaction can be very bad. It took me over four thousand years to work through it. During that time I killed men, women, and children. I'm not talking about a few, or hundreds, or even thousands, but tens of thousands. The worst part is that it was because I liked it and I was good at it."

Olivia stares at him in terror.

"The important thing is that I'm not like that anymore. I no longer like to fight. I'm going to uncuff you. Keep in mind that although I don't like to fight anymore, I still know how."

Adam starts looking for the keys. "Where are your handcuff keys?" He asks making a pitiful face.

"In my front right pants pocket." Olivia explains. Suddenly her eyes open wide.

Adam smiles. "Okay, I'm going in. I'll try not to enjoy it too much."

"There's another set in my nightstand."

"Yeah, and your sword is in there too. Nice try though." Adam stands Olivia up and standing behind her he slides his hand into her pants pocket. Olivia wriggles. "Stop wiggling."

"Stop feeling around."

"I'm trying to find a small key that's likely at the bottom… I think I got it."

Olivia's eyes bulge. "I know you do. Now get that hand out of my pocket." Olivia growls.

Adam removes his hand with the key. "I used to be a doctor, really, graduated from the University of Heidelberg. It was awhile ago… about the time Columbus thought he found India."

"Well, he didn't search for it in my pants."

"You realize a few hours ago I had you in the tub for a good scrubbing."

"Yeah, but I don't have to remember that… Is that all you did?"

"Yes, that's all I did. Olivia, I'm seven thousand years old, I've been married like seventy times, do you think you've got anything I haven't seen before."

"The point is that it is mine."

"Well that is a good point. Next time you get shot I'll just let the blood dry on you."

The ridiculousness of the conversation hits Olivia and she giggles. Adam uncuffs her and holds up the key to show her and puts it in the front pocket of his pants. "Give it." Olivia says.

"Get it yourself." Adam teases as they both giggle, but he hands over the key.

As soon as she has the key she cuffs Adam and calls Munch to request help transporting him to the station house.

Not very much later Adam looks toward the door and Olivia suddenly gasps. "Get the cuffs off me. I need to be able to defend myself." Adam whispers. Olivia hesitates. To her shock, Adam manages to wriggle his wrists behind his legs to get his arms in front and he recovers his Ivanhoe sword holding it with a two handed grip. He looks to the door braced for a fight. He is still restricted, but is no longer defenseless.

There is a knock on the door. Olivia is panicked as this is the first time she has sensed the arrival of a new immortal. She has had a constant sense of fear since she woke up, but this is increased by whatever is on the other side of her door. She runs to the bedroom and returns with her sword which she holds awkwardly.

"Olivia, we're not allowed to fight as a team. Get back. If I'm killed, whoever that is will be incapacitated for several minutes from receiving my quickening. Use that time to escape, get to holy ground and then call Kyra or Duncan."

Olivia unlocks Adams cuffs. Adam is now free to fully maneuver his blade. There is another knock on the door. "Olivia! Are you all right?"

Olivia looks to Adam in shock. "It's Sergeant Munch."

Adam nods. "Better let him in before the entire NYPD arrives."

Olivia opens the door. Munch enters. He sees Olivia holding the sword. "Olivia, is that a sword in your hand or are you just glad to see me?" Munch asks.

"You can speak freely. She knows what she is now." Adam says and a strange look goes across Olivia's face. Adam and Munch shake hands. "I heard you worked for SVU. How long has it been?"

"New Orleans, Storyville, about 1890 I think." Munch responds.

"Still working sex huh?" Adam asks.

"Well, when you're good at something…" Munch nods toward Olivia "How did it happen? Isn't that Betty's sword?"

"I plugged her last night."

"I've thought of plugging her a few times, but …" Munch grins.

"Still incorrigible I see."

"Well, when you're good at something…"

"It is Betty's sword. When I saw that Kyra wasn't seeing through her… You know Kyra is in town right?"

Munch chuckles. "Yeah. I tipped Kyra off about a week ago right after Olivia met her. The first time Kyra could get somebody else to watch Sarah, that bitch was in for a shock."

"Munch?!" Olivia challenges.

"What? All I did was even the scales so it would be a fair fight. Of course in a fair fight…" Munch makes a slashing motion crossed his throat. "So is the job as your rabbi still open?"

Olivia looks confused. "She could do a lot worse. But I'm hoping she can get some sword fighting lessons from Kyra or Duncan." Adam responds.

"I'd insist on it. Wait, you don't think I'm good enough?"

"I could arrange something. Which one of them do you want to go up against first?"

"You son of a bitch"

"I guess that answers that question." Adam grins.

"We've got to get to work Olivia. We're still on a Ripper hunt." Munch says changing the subject.

Adam sprawls on the couch. "Not much rush there. There won't be any more of those murders."

"He left town?" Olivia asks.

"Nope. She's dead."

"Do you mean Betty? So those theories about Jack really being Jill were right?" Munch asks.

"We had no evidence." Olivia says.

"The Watchers did." Adam says.

"The Watchers? They exist?"

"What are Watchers?" Olivia asks.

"An ancient international organization to observe immortals Olivia, they observe but don't interfere. They knew who the Ripper was since well before Whitechapel." Adam explains.

"How could they…?" Olivia asks.

"Just another example of how much the real power doesn't care about regular folks Olivia. But how do you know what they knew?"

Adam grins. "I was one of their archivists. In fact, I was in charge of finding me, and I made sure that never happened. It also gave me a chance to read other files."

"I'm loving it." Munch loves conspiracies within conspiracies even more that plain conspiracies.

"Says Nehemiah DeGraaf, born 1807, twenty two confirmed immortal kills, currently Sergeant John Munch, NYPD, Sixteenth Precinct, Special Victims Unit."

"Twenty two…" Olivia repeats collapsing into a chair.

"They were trying to kill me… Hey, when you're two hundred, assuming you make it, you'll have a few notches too… Would you prefer it was the other way around?"

Olivia sits shaking her head. Then she notices notches on the handle of the sword Adam gave her and gasps.

"Agatha, born 987 of the Common Era, seventy five confirmed immortal kills nearly all female, currently… formerly Betty White, not the actress, file clerk NYPD, Sixteenth Precinct, Special Victims Unit."

"Say what you will, she had some honor in not going after Olivia ten years ago."

"Honor? Nah. Killing a detective? She'd have to get out of town fast. Not much to be gained in taking a preimortal's head anyway. She was just waiting for the time when she was planning to leave anyway. Olivia's quickening would be her little private going away present for herself."

"Oh my God, she recently started killing as the Ripper again because she was planning to move on soon." Olivia says. "I would not have stood a chance would I?"

"No." Adam says sadly. "The empathy that makes you so good at your job also makes you vulnerable to people like her. We need to take a ride."

"Where are we going? I need to arrest you for Betty's murder."

"Later. For now there is somebody you should get to know in a new light." Adam responds.

"Who?" Olivia asks.

"No" Munch adds.

"Olivia needs a teacher that isn't so cynical."

"You know what really sucks for us? Mandatory healthcare payments" Munch retorts and Adam laughs as they leave Olivia's apartment.

Soon the three have arrived at the Medical Examiner's office. Olivia has a renewed sense of dread but she feels calmer than before. Adam motions Dr. Melinda Warner toward her private office and she meets them there. To Olivia's surprise, Adam and Melinda embrace warmly. "Melinda, Olivia has had her first death." he informs her.

"Olivia! Congratulations! How do you feel?" Melinda asks as Munch shakes his head.

"Confused" Olivia responds.

"I can imagine." Melinda says.

"I was hoping perhaps you could…" Adam asks.

"Of course. Why don't you two go while Olivia and I have some girl talk?"

"Come on Munch, I'll buy you a beer."

"It's barely nine o'clock in the morning." Munch counters.

"Well, then it's barely nine o'clock at night somewhere." Adam re-counters and they head out.

When they are gone Melinda opens her desk drawer and retrieves a large envelope. "I prepared this for you a few years ago. I was so afraid that I'd end up doing an autopsy on you… and sneaking your body out of here." She gives the envelope to Olivia.

Olivia opens the envelope and sees various papers some with her photograph on them. "What is this?"

"A complete new identity. It includes a narrative, what spies would call a 'legend', you even own a home in Colorado. There are active credit cards in your new name with purchases and payments regularly being made; your tastes are remarkably like mine by the way. It would hold up against most basic reviews by government agencies. You're even listed as CI for a small town PD."

"Thanks, I guess. This took a lot of work."

"It gave me peace of mind. I could not tell you what I knew you were. It is what we do. We hide. Did anyone see you dead… other than those two I mean?"

"Ummm no."

"Good. Then you can continue being Detective Olivia Benson."

Olivia sits down. Once more her emotions threaten to overwhelm her. "I ahhh" she says as her eyes tear up.

Melinda moves a chair opposite Olivia and pulls in so close they overlap knees and she leans in and takes her hands. In a whisper she says. "Olivia, until recently, you saw with the eyes of a mortal. Suddenly you are thrust into a new reality. Some parts of this new reality are going to go against all that you hold dear." Melinda pauses. "They may have told you that it is a weakness, but it may be your greatest strength." Melinda pauses again. "You are thinking that you are not a killer. What you are is something more powerful. You are a survivor. You have killed when you had to; it is no different for us." Olivia shakes her head. "Yes." Melinda corrects. "It is the same. Olivia, did they tell you how old I am?" Olivia shakes her head. "I'm four thousand years old, give or take a few hundred, I've lost track." Olivia is shocked. "I'm four thousand years old and the number of heads I've taken you could count on your fingers. I'm good at avoiding fights and I train religiously in case I can't avoid one." They sit quietly for quite awhile.

"Did they tell you we can sense all living things?" Olivia nods. "Good. Most men don't give that a second thought. But in the hands of someone like you, it will add immensely to your natural abilities."

Olivia becomes distracted. "I've got to arrest Adam. He admitted killing Betty." Olivia wipes away her tears and wipes her nose, pulling herself together.

"Liv, forgive me. There is no evidence against him."

Olivia glares at Melinda. "Yes there is. You told me…."

"Hopelessly corrupted DNA."

"You…?" Olivia accuses.

"Our affairs are our affairs. We seek our own justice. We do occasionally USE the police to detain others of our own kind… Olivia, if you're killed by one of our kind, I'll cover up the evidence. Then I'll find out who did it and track them down, and then the number of heads I've taken will increase by one."

"That isn't right."

"It is our way Olivia, OUR way."

"I've got to arrest him." Olivia starts to stand up.

Melinda grabs her by her wrist and pulls her back down to a seated position. Olivia is shocked by Melinda's strength and decisiveness. "You will do no such thing." Melinda scolds.

"She may have only been a file clerk and guilty of …., but she was also fellow officer."

"Yeah. She was somebody I've been avoiding since I got here. Somebody who kept me up at night worried about you. We live in two worlds. We live among mortals, but we aren't mortals. I know this is hard for you to hear. You want justice for Betty? You challenge him to single combat… but, know that it will be to the death, nearly certainly yours. Vengeance or forgiveness Olivia, those are your only choices."

Melinda pauses and takes a breath. "When I first met him, thousands of years ago, I wanted to kill him. You don't need to know the details of why except he and his friends wiped out a village where I was a healer. The men and boys they killed right away. The women and girls… took longer. They did it for no reason. Shortly before the Civil War, he tried to buy me out of slavery. My master didn't want to sell. He used to force me to do … special chores. I don't know what Adam did, and I don't want to, but my master signed the papers which freed me and then he took me to Canada. I want you to know that, but even if I had no history with him I'd do the same."

Olivia's face shows how torn she is.

"I know it is hard for you to compromise your values. Don't look at it that way. You hold your values when dealing with mortals. You develop new ones when you deal with immortals. In fact, for many of the crimes you investigate; apply your normal values for immortals as well. But for cases that may be life sentences or the death penalty… we can't have immortals discovered." Melinda chuckles. "Time was when they used the noose or electric chair an immortal would actually be buried before recovering. Now that was a punishment that certainly qualified as cruel and unusual."

"You mean…"

"That they were buried alive? Yes."


	7. Chapter 7

Decades later and hundreds of miles away, Duncan is conducting a karate class of young students when Olivia walks in and quietly observes from the back of the dojo smiling sadly. Duncan motions for an assistant to take over the class and joins Olivia at the back, standing silently besides her watching the class.

"They are so sweet and innocent aren't they?" Olivia finally observes.

"A couple of them pack a pretty good punch. How long has it been Olivia?"

"Twenty years Duncan…. Twenty long years…." Olivia whispers as the two talk quietly watching the students.

"Something wrong?" Duncan asks and Olivia nods fighting back her emotions and biting her lip.

Duncan steps behind Olivia and gently takes her coat and her sword with it and hangs it on a peg. "Come with me." He says smiling and leading a reluctant Olivia to the front of the class. "Class, this is a friend of mine. Her name is Olivia. Who would like to show her how they would defend themselves?" Several children wave their hands eagerly but Duncan picks a small shy blond girl from the side of the class who was trying not to be chosen. "Sarah." Sarah looks panicked. "It's okay, come here." Sarah reluctantly makes her way to the front.

Duncan turns little Sarah around so she's got her back to Olivia. He takes Olivia's arm and puts it around Sarah's neck with her throat in the crook of Olivia's arm. Olivia has to bend over to reach down. "Remember what I taught you?" Sarah nods nervously in response to Duncan's question. Duncan winks and smiles back. Sarah manages a smile.

"Go." Duncan says. Olivia isn't sure what to do to not embarrass Sarah, but she doesn't have long to think. Sarah stomps down on Olivia's right foot and screams. Just when Olivia thinks she knows what is coming, Sarah grabs Olivia's right leg behind the knee, pulls it forward, and launches herself backwards knocking Olivia into a seated position instead of pulling forward as Olivia expected. Olivia looks at Sarah in surprise for a split second before Sarah spin kicks her in the head and runs away shrieking.

Olivia shakes it off and sees Sarah covering her face in embarrassment yet her wide cheeks reveal also grinning broadly in triumph behind her hands. "Good job Sarah." Duncan praises.

"Okay, class dismissed. See you all Wednesday." The class heads for their stuff and parents begin to arrive to pick up their kids. The sight of happy children with their mothers is bittersweet for Olivia. She always wanted a family, but immortals cannot have children.

Olivia feels a tug on her sleeve and sees little Sarah gripping it. "I didn't hurt you did I?" she asks.

Olivia smiles. "I'll live, but you got me pretty good."

"We have to go Sarah." A woman calls. Olivia glances up, then back to the small blond and pats her head. The woman approaches and says "This is my daughter. I hope she hasn't been a problem."

"She's fine. She was just showing me some of her moves."

"Olivia?" The woman says in shock. Olivia looks up. The face is familiar but she can't place it. "It IS you! It's me, Sarah Roberts; I used to be Sarah Walsh."

Olivia registers. "Sarah" She says almost as much to herself as to the middle aged woman standing before her.

Showing off the diminutive blond to Olivia the senior Sarah says "Sarah's middle name is Olivia. You saved me in more ways than you'll ever know and in a way you're protecting my daughter too." Olivia fights her emotions once more as both Sarah's hug her one at the shoulders and one at the waist. "We have to go now, but will you be in town awhile?" Olivia nods unable to speak. In a moment only Duncan and Olivia remain.

"Is there a place…?" Olivia chokes. Duncan leads Olivia back to her coat and then upstairs to his office.

"What's happened Olivia?" Duncan asks as he gets two long neck beer bottles from a refrigerator. "Sorry, no wine."

"Duncan, I have become what I hate. I see their faces every night. I see the terror in their eyes, terror of me…. And the feeling in my heart…." Olivia shakes her head trying to put the memory aside.

Duncan twists off a cap and hands the bottle to Olivia. "So I heard. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Absolve me."

"Only you hold that power. Sometimes you must forgive yourself, take the lessons you've learned and move on."

"I've tried. I can't. Every case takes a piece of me. There is nothing left. Yet, I can't not… Take my head. End it. "

"I'm not going to do that."

"I've become a monster." Olivia suddenly recalls what Kyra said so long ago.

"The fact that it hurts you so much proves that you haven't, neither have you changed as much as you think. You have lost your way a bit. You will find it again."

"No. Everything is different now. Everybody has moved on. I'm alone. There is nothing but my job and it's eating me alive."

"How long…"

"Thirty five years." Olivia replies and Duncan nods considering.

"I'm surprised you held it together that long. I don't know anyone else that could have done so well. You are a warrior. You stand between the innocent and the evil and you say 'Nothing will hurt you tonight, not on my watch.' But it isn't a movie. There isn't always a happy ending. Even when you win, there are always casualties. That has got to take a toll. It would take a toll on anyone who cares half as much as you do. I have a friend who is a retired Watcher. He's been letting me know how you were doing. It may be a surprise to you, but your Watcher is a veteran, assigned to you after his previous immortal was defeated and he has the deepest respect for you. He still does. What happened was inevitable."

"Inevitable?"

Duncan nods. "Yes. There is a limit… What you did… was something that has always been within you."

"No… Don't say that. Please."

"It has always been within you. But until that night you controlled it, you channeled it without being aware you were doing so. Now you have seen it and looked it in the eyes. You have defeated it. You will recognize it now. You are stronger for it."

"What I did went beyond…"

"Yeah, I'll admit I thought when it happened it would be a swift kill in the heat of the moment. But you hunted them and took your time."

"I … enjoyed it … at the time. My heart was happy."

"You will find your path again. You will start a new life. Olivia… look at me… There was a time in my life when I hunted the English for what they did to my people. I hunted English soldiers and I killed them. Some were not much more than boys… some I killed some in front of their families. Most did not commit the acts I was avenging, but it didn't matter to me. I took pleasure in their anguish. I had become what I hate and I reveled in it. But unlike you, I didn't stop on my own."

"You?" Olivia asks and Duncan nods. "How did you find your way again?"

"With the help of a few friends, Ceirdwyn, later Adam. Without them I probably would not be here."

"How?"

"Ceirdwyn said 'We're warriors. We kill the killers.' But she also taught me that there comes a time when enough is enough and you must embrace life once again and put aside your anger. You have seen too much tragedy, too much death. It was bound to overwhelm you. We live long lives, but we're not superhuman. Adam taught me that what is done is done, we can't change the past. We can only accept it. Sometimes you must forgive yourself. Life is about change. This world would be a darker place without you. What you need is a taste of life."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for me it was sharing a bed with Ceirdwyn. For you, I think it means teaching the peewee class."

Olivia smiles a real smile; it is the first time in weeks that she's had a glimpse of light ahead. "I don't know. That little Sarah is pretty tough."

"I hear she gets it from her mother, who got it from some detective in New York." Duncan smiles and clinks bottle necks with Olivia.


End file.
